Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan

Overview

We are celebrating our 40th year with a new name that reflects a focus on collaboration and implementation. Our work starts with a new Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan to restore and care for the Sound for the next 10 years.

Over the past four decades, partners working through the Long Island Sound Partnership have made major strides to restore the Sound. Since the original 1994 Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) was adopted, federal, state, and local partners have reduced nitrogen pollution by 40 million pounds per year, restored nearly 2,400 acres of habitat, reopened 448 miles of rivers to migratory fish, and engaged hundreds of thousands of people through education and volunteer projects.

In 2015, the CCMP was revised to set more ambitious goals for restoring the Sound’s health and resilience through 2035. The plan was designed to be implemented in five-year increments, with Implementation Actions developed for each period. Updates were published in 2020 and again in 2025 to reflect progress, new challenges, and evolving science.

The 2025 CCMP continues this work with refreshed actions and targets, supporting the long-term vision of a healthy, resilient Long Island Sound for all communities.


Goals of the CCMP

To fulfill the vision of a restored and protected Long Island Sound, the Long Island Sound Partnership developed the 2025 CCMP with specific, measurable objectives and actions to guide progress through 2030. These are organized under four interconnected goals:

Clean Waters and Healthy Watersheds

Improve water quality by reducing contaminant and nutrient loads from the land and the waters impacting Long Island Sound. Learn more about waters and watersheds »

Thriving Habitats and Abundant wildlife

Restore and protect the Sound’s ecological balance in a healthy, productive, and resilient state to benefit both people and the natural environment. Learn more about habitats and wildlife »

Sustainable and Resilient Communities

Support vibrant, informed, and engaged communities that use, appreciate, and help protect Long Island Sound. Learn more about communities »

Informed and Engaged Public

Inspire and empower the public to appreciate, value, and protect Long Island Sound and the waters that flow into the Sound. Learn more about engaged public »

Explore Long Island Sound Ecosystem Targets

The following ambitious, but achievable, ecosystem targets have been developed to drive progress toward attaining the goals of the management plan’s themes Clean Waters and Healthy Watersheds, Thriving Habitats and Abundant Wildlife, and Sustainable and Resilient Communities.

Clean Waters and Healthy Watersheds

Thriving Habitats and Abundant Wildlife

Sustainable and Resilient Communities

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